neck shaping on baby sweater

[momto8]

I am making my first baby sweater and I am soooo close to finishing! I have come to the neck shaping and I can't understand the directions for the next step. The pattern is from Lion brand Small Comforts "lullabye layette". I have the two front pieces, the two sleeves, and the back on a circular needle and have joined them with a yoke. Here is what it says:
Next Row: Work first 4 sts in St st (k on RS, p on WS) and place these stitches on a holder, work to last 4 sts, sl last 4 sts to a holder. Continue in St st, AT THE SAME TIME, dec 1 st each end of next 2 RS rows.
Immediately following is another section that says
Next Row (WS) and gives directions for a decreasing row

Several questions here.
It never says how many rows of this, but it tells me to dec at the end of the next 2 RS rows.
I K the first 4 st and then put them on a holder. Am I supposed to take them and work them separately in a ST st? For how many rows???
The last 4 sts just stay on a holder and I don't touch them????

The only thing I can think is that the first set is for the RS, then I am to go on to the next row (WS) directions and come back until I have a total of 3 RS rows? Then do a matching set of rows, but separately for the 4 sts on the first holder??
This pattern has been easy enough until now, but this has really thrown me off. I am a fairly new knitter btw and am new to this forum!

[MerigoldinWA]

Rep the last 2 rows 12 (15, 18) more times, AT THE SAME TIME, when Yoke measures 2 1/2 (3 1/2, 4 1/2) in. (6.5 (9, 11.5) cm), shape neck as follows.
Shape Neck
Next Row: Work first 4 (5, 6) sts in St st (k on RS, p on WS) and place these sts on a holder, work to last 4 (5, 6) sts, sl last 4 (5, 6) sts to a holder.
Continue in St st, AT THE SAME TIME, dec 1 st each end of next 2 (2, 2) RS rows.
Next Row (WS): *Work to 2 sts before next marker, p2tog, slip marker, p2tog; rep from * across all markers, work to end. Leave rem 43 (45, 47) sts on a spare needle.

This is from the pattern. A question... At the top of this set of instructions it says to repeat the decrease rows and AT THE SAME TIME when the yoke is so long to begin the neck shaping. Do you have all the decreases done or do you need to be sure to keep doing them as you begin this next part?

When you start the neck shaping you work 4 stitches in St st (I guess you could be either on a RS or WS row at this point so they include the [k on the RS, p on the WS]), then put those 4 stitches on a holder. You will not touch these 4 sts again until you pick up the stitches for the neckband, you will then work those 4 as part of the neckband. Work on across the row either knitting or purling depending on which row you are on. When you have 4 stitches left move those 4 to a holder. These will also just sit there until you do the neckband where they will become part of the neckband. (It says to pick them up, but really you will want to put the 4 at the beginning of where the neckband starts on a needle, knit them off then pick up stitches around the rest of the neckband to the where the other 4 are on the holder, put them on a needle and work them off onto the needle with the rest of the neckband sts.)

Then if the next row is a RS row decrease 1 st at each end. If the next row is a WS row just purl across it as normal. (If you haven't finished the decreases they were talking about earlier you will need to continue them as you do this. I hope for simplicity that you have already done all of them. ) Then work whatever you need to to decrease on each end of one more RS row.

When you finish that you will be ready for the place where it says:

Next Row (WS): *Work to 2 sts before next marker, p2tog, slip marker, p2tog; rep from * across all markers, work to end. Leave rem 43 (45, 47) sts on a spare needle.

Welcome to KnittingHelp! I hope I have answered well enough to make this clear, if not ask for clarification.

[momto8]

I am wondering if I misunderstood the previous decreasing. It did not tell me how many stitches I should have had, but there were 105 I think. I did the decreases on either side of the markers (there are 4 markers) and stopped when I got to 2 1/2 inches but that was before 12 sets. Hmmm. Did I get it mixed up?

[MerigoldinWA]

It sounds like you may have done it wrong. When you had the 2 1/2" you were supposed to start the neck shaping but not stop doing the 8 decreases each right side row until you had 12 more decrease rows from when you had 159sts. 12X8=96 stitches you needed to get rid of. 159-96=73 but somewhere you would have been putting the 4 on each side on holders, those would count in the 73. I may not be thinking about that right, but I know it said to keep doing the decreases until you had done 12 more after the first one.

[salmonmac]

What may help is to write out the directions row by row starting at 'Shape Neck'. Add the decreases at the markers onto the RS rows that you've written out if you still need to, in order to get to the total of 13 dec rows.
Sometimes when there are a few things going on at the same time, it's the only way to keep things straight and make sure you don't forget a direction.